The 7th Circuit federal judges in Chicago have ruled that Palatine's policy of putting personal information on parking tickets potentially violates the Driver's Privacy Protection Act. The court ruled en banc, meaning all judges in the 7th Circuit, rather than just a panel, considered this case. This sends the message that this was a particularly important case.
The Driver's Privacy Protection Act (DPPA) was enacted after an actress in California was murdered by a stalker who got her information from the DMV. In this case considered by the Court, Senne v. Village of Palatine, Mr. Senne alleged his personal information such as his name, address, driver's license number, date of birth, height and weight were all listed on his parking ticket. The Court found this sufficiently stated a claim that all his personal information exceeded what was permitted by the DPPA.
Not all the judges agreed, however. Those who did not agree found this could create a potential $80 million in liability for the Village of Palatine. Judge Posner said "from now until the statute is amended (unless the decision is reversed by the Supreme Court first) only a sucker would park legally in the Village of Palatine."
We're certainly not advocating illegal parking in Palatine. But we do love a good dissent!